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COPYRIGHT DEPOSHV 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



The Peace Conference 



A Poem by 
C. V. WHITE 




BOSTON 
RICHARD G. BADGER 

The Gorham Press 
1905 



Copyright 1905 by C. V. White 
All Rights Reserved 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies ReceivMl 

JAN 3 1906 

. Copyright Entry 

/ CLASS A. XXC. No. 

C\ / J i'/A. 3 
COPY B. 






1*^05 



Printed at 

THE GORHAM PRESS 

Boston, U. S. A. 



/ ■ 

I 



DEDICATED TO 

THE AMERICAN DELEGATES OF THE 

INTERNATIONAL PEACE 

CONFERENCE, 

Called by the Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, and 
Opened at The Hague, May i8, 1899. 

Andrew D. White, Ambassador at Berlin, 
Stanford Newell, Minister at The Hague, 
Seth Low, Columbia University, 
Capt. A. T. Mahan, U. S. N., retired, 
Capt. William Crozier, U. S. A., 
Fred W. Holls, Secretary, New York. 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 

TIME— ANNO DOMINI, MDCCCXCIX 
PLACE— THE HAGUE 

The Powers are convened to consider the Czar's 
proposal for a general disarmament. There are 
present the Czar of Russia, the Emperor of Ger- 
many, the Queen of England, the Queen of Hol- 
land, the Mikado, the President of France, the 
President of the U. S., and numerous Ambassadors, 
Consuls, Secretaries, Messengers, etc. 

Rulers of States, 
Princes and Potentates, 
Whom seals and insignia adorn, 

All who parade a jeweled brow, 
All ye unto the purple born. 
All Royalties, attend me now. 

I bring to you 

A proclamation new, — 
A scheme whose purpose and intent 
Is to promote disarmament. 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



By virtue of having taken the initiative in the 
movement, the Czar presides, and outlines his pol- 
icy. 

Unto the end 

That Sovereigns may lend 
Their princely offices and state 
This glorious scheme to consummate. 

The Czar has a dream of Universal Peace and 
incidentally suggests the Millennium. 

That wars may cease, 

And Universal Peace 
May bear the message of her birth, 
And spread her blessings o'er the earth. 

Spero meliora. 

I would disband 

The troops In every land; 
And Arms I would eliminate 
From Principality and State. 



10 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



I would confine 

The navies, yours and mine, 
And put a limitation both 
On their continuance and growth. 

I would discard 

Those instruments abhorred, 
Which, in a moment of held breath, 
Can send a thousand souls to death. 

I would create 

A Board to arbitrate, 
Than which Tribunal there should be 
None higher in authority. 

I would intrust 

This Body to adjust 
All disagreements that arise. 
And all disputes to harmonize. 

To apprehend 

A failure in the end. 
To give ourselves to doubts and fears, 
Is wisdom learned not of our years. 



II 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



And to endure 
An evil we could cure, 
Is unpropltious to our star, 
Unworthy of the kings we are. 

Noblesse oblige. 

Since we by fate 

Are called to high estate, — 
Since we are overlords of all, 
Regents of wood, rulers of wall, — 

Let us discharge 
Unto the world at large, 
With heart and spirit free and frank, 
The obligations of our rank. 



Upon us too, 



Upon us too, 

As kings and princes true. 
As guardians of the peace devolves 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



We should give heed 

To every want and need; 
We should ameliorate all woe, 
And reconcile foe unto foe. 

This is indeed 

My doctrine and my creed ; 
And be it voted down today, 
Or be the issue what it may, — 

Here I commit 

And pledge myself to it ; 
And frankly I demand and ask 
Co-operation in the task. 

John Bull. The Powers seek to controvert the 
Czar's argument, and cite past incidents in defense 
of the institution of war. 

Would Pyramid 

Have risen as it did, 
Or Sphinx, that lone guardian of graves. 
Had Egypt's kings not had their slaves ? 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Ivanovitch. 

There hangs and drops 

Around the great Cheops, 
Thought such as move to the sublime, 
And mystery as outlives Time. 

The Czar shozcs the total indiference of the 
rulers to the condition of their captives, whom they 
made slaves. 

The Pharoahs, 

Under whom they arose. 
Heard not the curses of their slaves 
Pronounced upon their sumptuous graves. 

The mrath of the Lord is kindled against Pha- 
roah. The Rod, in the hands of Moses, becomes 
an avenger. 

Would the Lord God 

Have given to the Rod 
The power to make the waters part 
Had Pharoah hardened not his heart? 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



The Mikado. 

The infidel raises a question of morals. 

Where would have been 
Redress for Helen's sin, 
Had no appeal to arms been made, 
And had the gods not given aid? 

Ivanovitch. 

Had she not flown 
We never would have known 
The epic and the verse supreme, 
For Homer would have had no theme. 

Her guilt is part 

Of learning and of art; 
Nor could less beauty than was hers 
Inspire the Greek hexameters. 

Sanctioned by gods 
And goddesses, whose nods 
Inflamed the brave Achilles' wrath. 
Or marked Ulysses' wandering path, — 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Casus belli. 

If punishment 

For sin was ever sent, 
If war was ever justified, 
It was the one for Helen tried. 

But curse the dower 
Of Beauty and its power; 
Cursed be the man and his caress, 
And cursed be her unfaithfulness. 

Brother Jonathan. 

Would Persia proud 

The Grecian seas have ploughed. 
Had she not thought her armament 
Surpassing and omnipotent? 

Ivanovitch. 

Darius bore, 

And Xerxes even more, 
,Such hatred to the Grecian states 
As tempted them unto their fates. 
i6 — 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



It was decreed 

That Asia should be freed 
From bigotry and despotism, 
From occult myth and mysticism. 

Jean Crapaud. 

If for his son 

Philip, of Macedon, 
Had not prepared and formed the State, 
Would Alexander have been Great? 

Ivanovitch. 

In anv age 

On History's written page. 
Would Phillip's son have left his name, 
And himself given unto fame. 

His was a mind 

Unto the great inclined; 

A soul possessed in high degree 

Of every princely quality. 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



To boastings true 

He boldly marched into 
The temple of the god divine, 
And forced an answer from the shrine. 

He pulled down towns, 

And took from kings their crowns; 
He took from them their priceless gem, 
Yea, by his strength he plundered them. 

And conquering still. 

At pleasure and at will, 
He marched unto Arbela's plain, 
And broke the despot's power in twain. 

Though in his path 

There followed curse and wrath, 
Yet learning and enlightenment 
Were introduced where'er he went. 

Thus have reforms 

Been wrought by force of arms; 
Thus has enlightenment been spread, 
^nd carried to the living dead. 

i8 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Cousin Michael. 

Should conquests stir 
The calm philosopher, 
Or yet the gleam of blade or steel, 
Rouse in the orator new zeal ? 

Ivanovitch. 

Peace may engage 
Philosopher and sage, 
But look to see the orator 
Moving Assemblies unto war. 

And one of these 

Was that Demosthenes, 

Who, scorning Macedonian bribes. 

Broke into bitter diatribes. 

His mind foresaw 
The subtle scheme to draw, 
And Hellas to assimiliate 
Into the Macedonian State. 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



But matchless art, 

Outpoured from patriot heart, 
Could not turn back the bayonet, 
Nor Phillip from his purpose set. 

John Bull. 

When Carthage rose 
In might against her foes, 
Themselves allies and friends of Rome, 
Could Roman troops remain at home? 

Ivanovitch. 

Than Sicily. 

Pride of the Inland Sea, 
The eye of mortal never scanned 
A fairer or a richer land. 

With such a prize 
Before their covetous eyes, 
Neither Rome nor Carthage could restrain 
Her love of conquest and of gain. 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



It was Rome's boast 
That never, though she lost, 
Had she deserted faithful friend, 
Or failed her allies aid to lend. 

On this pretext, 
Professing to be vexed. 
She marshaled out her chivalry 
To drive the foe from Sicily 

The circumstance, 
With deep significance, 
And far-reaching results was fraught 
Unknown at the time, and unthought. 

It marked Rome's first 
Insatiable greed and thirst, 
Her first ambition and desire 
For foreign conquest, world empire. 

Thrice was it waged, 
And thrice hell fairly raged 
Between the boasted sons of Mars 
And Carthage, no less famed in wars. 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Perchance 'twas fought 

That the world might be brought 

Resourceful Hannibal to know, 

Or the genius of a Scipio ; 

Howe'er this be, 

This bygone century. 
This age of war. and hate, and strife 
With might}' men and deeds is rife ; 

It gives to us 

Immortal Regulus, 
Sublime in courage when he went 
To torture and death-punishment. 

It tells us how 

The passion and the vow 
Great Hannibal did dedicate 
From earlv infancv to hate. 



22 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Delenda Karthago est! 

It tells how great 
Was the censor Cato's hate 
When he, unto the Roman world, 
"Delenda est Karthago" hurled. 

It tells how brave 

Those women were who gave 
Their glorious locks to cut and braid 
For Carthage's defense and aid. 

Mynheer Closh. 

If no appeal 

Had been to arms or steel. 
Would Caesar still have shown his might, 
Or Rome have risen to such height? 

Ivanovitch. 

In any chance. 

Or adverse circumstance, 
The Ccesar would have mastered fate, 
For he was destined to be Great. 

23 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



And Heav'n had willed 
That Rome, the seven-hilled, 
Should rise from that proud eminence 
To pow'r and great magnificence ; 

To might and pow'r 
Unknown until that hour. 
When Roman standards were unfurled, 
And Empire claimed o'er all the world. 

It Is not strange 

Within this world of change, 
That, having run their little day, 
Kingsdoms and states should pass away; 

Fuit Ilium. 

But when the eye 
Beholds such glories die. 
Such grandeur and such splendors fade. 
As the Eternal Rome displayed, — 



24 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Like Scipio 

We marvel at the blow, 
And ask, with feelings insecure. 
How long our Kingsdoms will endure. 

Brother Jonathan. 

The Gothic host, 

The European ghost. 
Say, where would they have found a home. 
Had they not wrested it from Rome? 

Ivanovitch. 

Like unto wine, 

(Sweet product of the vine!) 
Fermenting till it overruns, 
Were Goths, and Visigoths, and Huns. 

The age was crude. 
The men and manners rude, 
And warring was the prop and stay 
Of states and kingdoms in that day. 



25 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Cousin Michael. 

When to the Moor 

The Christians left their shore, 

How could the valiant Charles Martel 

Unarmed, turned back the Infidel? 

Ivanovitch. 

He has done well, 

Has noble Charles Martel; 
He who could strike the Saracen 
A blow that seemed the strength of ten. 

It was a test 

In which was manifest 
The power of the Holy Ghost 
Over Mohammed and his host. 

The Infidel. 

When William claimed 

That The Confessor named 
Him heir unto the English throne, 
Coukl Saxon set aside their own? 

26 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Ivanovitch, 

The Duke was bold 

Such promise to uphold, 
And by the force of blade and blood, 
To dare to make his title good. 

But England's need 

Was growing great indeed, 

For such a strong hand to protect. 

And such a leader to direct. 

For lowly churl 

Would not obey his earl, 
And Saxon Harold was too weak 
To hold the doughty lords in check. 

The Mikado. 

Without the aid 

Of arms, how could the Maid 
Have realized her hopes and dreams. 
And crowned the Dauphin, King, at Reims? 



27 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Ivanovitch. 

Joan of Arc 

Saw visions in the dark, — 
Heard Voices bidding her advance 
To the deliverance of France. 

No matter which, 

Saint, heretic, or witch, 
The fair Pucelle was under a spell 
Which served her cause and country well. 

Her zeal inspired, 

And the French nation fired, 

With enthusiasm to a degree 

That won a glorious victory. 

John Bull. 

When Spain with curse, 

And Inquisition worse, 
Sent the Armada forth in might, 
Had England aught to do but fight? 



28 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Ivanovitch. 

In danger's hour 

It is the right of Power, 
And of the Sovereign, State, or Lord, 
The people to protect and guard. 

Brother Jonathan. 

When stamps were sent 
For deed and document, — 
When troops and brigantines of hire 
Were sent to do the King's desire. 

In honor then 

To country, God, and men, 
Pray, what could Congress do but charge 
Cursed tyranny against King George? 

Ivanovitch. 

When it was thus 

When tax iniquitous 
Was forced upon the Colonist, 
It was his duty to resist. 
29 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



For it Is just 

When Kings betray their trust, 
When Tyranny perverts the laws. 
To take up arms in Freedom's cause. 

The Infidel. 

Excitement runs riot. The delegates are upon 
their feet gesticulating, and vociferating wildly. 

With Spain harassed. 

And with the Tiber passed, 
With Austria battling for her claims, 
And Moscow given to the flames, — 

Mynheer Closh. 

The Czar zainly endeazors to command order. 

With Prussia rent. 

And in a wild ferment, — 

Brother Jonathan. 

With England given to alarms. 

What could the Powers but take up arms? 

30 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



John Bull. 

And what recourse, 
Except to arms and force, 
Had England when her foes approached? 

Jean Crapaud. 

Had France when England's power encroached? 

Shade of Jefferson Davis, 

When in the South 

It ran from mouth to mouth. 
Of how the North had sworn to free. 
And give the black man liberty, — 

Shade of Abraham Lincoln. 

When in the North 

The cry and word went forth, 
Of how the South was up in arms. 
And beating drums, and sounding 'larms. 



31 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Ye gods, declare 

If other way was there! 

John Bull. 

Aye, England found another way, 
But yet the price of blood would pay I 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Dea ex Machina. 

At this juncture a figure clad in soft flowing 
robes of white, wearing a laurel wreath upon her 
brow, and bearing a spray of palm in her extended 
right hand, enters the Council Hall, and walks ma- 
jestically to the throne. 

I bring to you 

A new command and true, — 
The Vision that the Prophet saw, 

The Voice the son of Amos heard, — 
From Zion shall go forth the Law, 
And from Jerusalem the Word. 

This is the Law, — 
Your swords ye shall not draw. 
For they who take the sword and fight 
Shall perish of the sword's own might. 

There are two fears 

That haunt man through his years ; 
Two mysteries confusing brain. 
Two cruelties producing pain. 



33 



THE PEACE CONFEREN'CE 



The mystery 

Of nature's cruelty, 
Such as when Etna's mountain glows 
With flame of earth's conv^ulsive throes. 

And ever near 

Is the disturbing fear, 
That, challenging his God and fate, 
Man will return to savage state. 

But Etna's fire 

With fear should not inspire; 
Nor is it part of God's wise plan 
That man should fear his brother man. 

Curse on the age 
That lent itself to rage, 
When brothers took their battle-stand, 
And fought their brothers hand to hand. 

Curse on the part 

That new inventive art 
Has in creating rivalry, 
Aijd increase of mortality. 



34 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Tempora Mutantur. 

As alchemy 

To modern chemistry, — 
As was old astrology 
Unto the new astronomy, — 

So even are 

The olden modes of war — 
The spear, the arrow, and the bow — 
Unto the perfect means we know. 

A curse upon 
The rapid-firing gun ! 
On the inhuman dumdum's throes. 
On submarines, and torpedoes ! 

When Cuba, foiled. 

For Freedom toiled and toiled. 
Uprose a Nation in her might 
And joined the weaker in the fight. 



35 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



And e'en today 

There may be those to say, 
That it was all humanity, 
And libert}', and Cuba free. 

But if ye must 
Lay in the dirt and dust, 
One man to set another free, 
Pray, where is the humanity? 

For at command 
Many, within that land, 

Have laid aside forevermore 

The arms and weapons that they bore. 

Fides Punic a. 

The contest o'er 
Linger ye on the Shore 
To show that your humanity 
Was but pretence and mockery? 



36 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



The evil genius of France. 

In this same hour 
Behold a Nation's power, 
Employed to her eternal hurt 
The ends of justice to pervert. 

A secret sold, 

By some one learned and told. 
The perjury of witnesses. 
Atonement for a crime not his. 

Alas! in France 

Has he no hope or chance. 
Against the lies and perjuries 
Of his determined enemies? 

Is death, slow death 
By pestilential breath, 
Upon the Devil's lonely Isle, 
The fate reserved for one so vile? 



37 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Are arms the cause, 

Perversion of the laws, 
Connivance of the Government 
To shield the ones not innocent? 

When, when will cease 
This menace to your peace? 

When will ye break the strain and stress, 

And spirit of aggressiveness? 

How long, how long, 
Will ye behold the strong 
Do causeless battle with the weak. 
And on them dreadful vengeance wreak? 

This is the Word, — 

Behold the living Lord 
Shall come in Peace and Righteousness, 
His people to redeem and bless. 

And in that day 

Many shall come and say, 
Let us go up to our reward. 
Unto the mountain of the Lord; 

38 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



The Prophet of Israel. 

Nation shall not 

'Gainst Nation rise and plot; 
Their land shall not run red with gore, 
Nor shall they learn war any more ; 

Their pointed spears 

That brought to foes such fears, 
And humbled many lofty looks, 
Shall be made into pruning hooks; 

And they shall beat 

Their swords beneath their feet; 
And of them peaceful plowshares form 
When all the nations shall disarm ; 

When to His ain 
The King shall come again. 
The nations He shall judge among, 
And shall rebuke them of their wrong; 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



And in that day 

Forsooth, shall pass away, 
The burden of distrust and hate 
Of England's foe across the Strait ; 

The Powers then, 

Shall not, please God and men. 
Oppressed, benighted China land 
Partition with their ruthless hand; 

The Northern Bear 
Shall hearken to the prayer, 
And shall no more oppress the Finns, 
But shall repent him of his sins ; 

Siberia vast 

He shall not hold so fast; 
And troops he shall not mobolize, 
E'en though Korea be the prize; 

The Japanese 

Beyond their inland seas 
Shall not adventure forth to fight. 
However just their cause or right; 



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THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



Nor shall the Boer 
Be driven from his Shore ; 
For England's onward march shall cease, 
When she has learned the joys of peace; 

The Infidel 

Shall come beneath the spell, 
And all despoiliation cease 
Of ancient Art, of modern Greece ; 

And there shall sound 
O'er Pyramid and Mound, 
O'er watchful Sphinx, and silent Tomb, 
To the Invader's march the doom; 

That day shall bring. 
As though on angel wing, 
The Inspiration and the word. 
To kindred Kaffir and to Kurd. 

To sate the greed. 
To take beyond the need, 
To dupe and overreach Is base, 
E'en In the meanest of the race; 



41 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



But when the Kings 
Resort unto such things, 

How much more reprehensible ! 

How much more indefensible ! 

And every strife 
Has cost us many a life; 
And words that rose with heated breath, 
Have signed many a soul to death. 

How vain, how vain, 

It is to strive for gain. 
For that which marks the beast and brute 
Is not a kingly attribute. 

The Heav'n for height, 
The sun and stars for light, 
The mountain for its mist and snow, 
The sea for ceaseless ebb and flow, — 

The foam to curl. 

The oyster for its pearl, 

The shell to whisper of the sea. 

And reproduce its melody, — 



42 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



The Spring for birth, 
The Summer for its mirth, 
The Autumn for its death and dearth. 
The Winter for its home and hearth, — 

The line for length, 

The circle for its strength. 

The square and cube for symmetry, 

And space for all eternity, — 

The plane to slope. 
The entering wedge to ope, 
The cog to take the water's drift. 
The turning of the screw to lift, — 

The camel for 

The desert sand and bar. 
The ship to plough with restless keel. 
The track to span the earth with steel,- 

The chrysalis 

For metamorphosis, 
The cocoon for the finest silk. 
The mother for the offspring's milk, — 



43 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



The soul to long, 

The heart to burst in song, 

The mind to reason and adjust, 

The body to return to dust, — 

Mankind to give 

While he doth move and live 
His days to glorify and bless 
The Prince of Peace and Righteousness,- 

Kings their high place 

To occupy by grace, 
And to inspire to noble things, 
Serving alone the King of Kings; 

And in their zeal 

To make known and reveal 

The essence of Divinity 

That leaveneth their destiny. 

Lord God, we pray. 

Reveal Thyself today, 
And in Thy boundless love and might 
The nations of the world unite. 



44 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



That wars may cease, 

And Universal Peace 
May bear the message of her birth, 
And spread her blessings o'er the earth. 



45 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 



L'ENVOI 

Lord God, endow 

Us with Thy blessing now, 

And plenteous Peace the whole world o'er 

Establish Thou forevermore! 



46 



JAN B 1906 



